Pink Triangle Legacies traces the transformation of the pink triangle from a Nazi concentration camp badge and emblem of discrimination into a widespread, recognizable symbol of queer activism, pride, and community. W. Jake Newsome provides an overview of the Nazis' targeted violence against LGBTQ people and details queer survivors' fraught and ongoing fight for the acknowledgement, compensation, and memorialization of LGBTQ victims. Within this context, a new generation of queer activists has used the pink triangle - a reminder of Germany's fascist past - as the visual marker of gay liberation, seeking to end queer people's status as second-class citizens by asserting their right to express their identity openly. The reclamation of the pink triangle occurred first in West Germany, but soon activists in the United States adopted this chapter from German history as their own. As gay activists on opposite sides of the Atlantic grafted pink triangle memories onto new contexts, they connected two national communities and helped form the basis of a shared gay history, indeed a new gay identity, that transcended national borders. Pink Triangle Legacies illustrates the dangerous consequences of historical silencing and how the incorporation of hidden histories into the mainstream understanding of the past can contribute to a more inclusive experience of belonging in the present. There can be no justice without acknowledging and remembering injustice. As Newsome demonstrates, if a marginalized community seeks a history that liberates them from the confines of silence, they must often write it themselves.
W. Jake Newsome is a scholar of American and German LGBTQ history whose work as a public historian reaches global audiences. He currently works as a museum professional in Washington, DC. You can find him online at wjakenewsome.com and @wjnewsome.
Introduction: "Beaten to Death, Silenced to Death" 1. "They are Enemies of the State!": The Fate of LGBTQ People in Nazi Germany 2. "For Homosexuals, the Third Reich Hasn't Ended Yet": Paragraph 175 and the Nazi Past in West Germany 3. "The Only Acceptable Gay Liberation Logo": The Reclamation of the Pink Triangle in West Germany 4. "It's a Scar, but In Your Heart": The Pink Triangle in American Gay Activism 5. "Remembrances of Things Once Hidden": Piecing Together the Pink Triangle Past on Stage and on Page 6. "We Died There, Too": Commemoration and the Construction of a Transatlantic Gay Identity Epilogue: "Remembering Must Also Have Consequences"
"For those interested in the "problems" of queer history, this book is an excellent introduction to the issues associated with confronting queer historical memory." - The Gay & Lesbian Review "This book presents a compelling intervention into the study of the Holocaust and its aftermath... Newsome's emotional generosity shapes a narrative of postwar symbolism and memorynecessary to understanding all that was at stake." - Holocaust and Genocide Studies "Pink Triangle Legacies hoes new terrain at the intersection of queer studies, transnational history, and memory studies. Written in accessible prose free of academic jargon, it deserves to reach a large readership of scholars, activists, and thoughtful individuals of all stripes." - Central European History "A timely contribution... Pink Triangle Legacies has arrived at a time when - in ways that are all too similar to the cultural struggles of past decades-censorship, book bans, and retrenchment of school curricula are being used to restrict groups' and individuals' claims on national identity." - American Historical Review "Weaving together archival research, oral histories, and the findings of other scholars, Pink Triangle Legacies is a lovingly written book by a public historian committed to ensuring that this past will not be relegated to the ash heap of history. That is, it is both an analysis of the political uses to which memory of Nazi persecution has been put and one such political use in its own right." - Journal of Social History
